Problem: Tiffany has 18 nectarines for every 24 watermelons. Write the ratio of nectarines to watermelons as a simplified fraction.
Answer: Ratios can be written in a few different ways that mean the same thing. You can express a ratio with a colon separating the two numbers. $18:24$ You can write it out as a phrase like this. $18 \text{ to } 24$ Or, you can express a ratio as a fraction. $\dfrac{18}{24}=\dfrac{3}{4}$ Therefore, $\dfrac{3}{4}$ is the ratio of nectarines to watermelons written as a simplified fraction.